Saturday, June 12, 2010

This article in the Arizona Republic reports thatMesa, Arizona, one of the sponsors of the award-winning Water - Use it Wisely ad campaign and located in one of the most water stressed areas in the US has come out with a new campaign to convince their wealthy residents on how to save water.

"Instead of requiring rainwater harvesting and plumbing to accommodate 'gray-water' irrigation, Mesa will continue to focus on public education and encouraging voluntary projects".

Why this approach in a water scarce region with no apparent shortage of financial resources?

Several issues arose regarding gray-water systems. Among them:

• Kathryn Sorensen, Mesa's water resources director, said if a great number of homes began diverting gray water, that could affect Mesa's ability to fulfill its contracts for delivering reclaimed water.

• Bouchie (directs many of Mesa's environmental programs) and DiFrancesco (a water conservation specialist for the city) said gray-water systems can create health and safety hazards if not properly installed.

• Diverting too much water from the sewer system could cause problems because water is needed to flush solids through the lines.

It sounds like Arizona should be announcing a powerhouse eco-couple to spread the word on voluntary projects since the state recently cut their water resources regulatory staff to the barebone according to Watering the Desert.

But who could fit into the short list of Arizona powerhouse eco-couples?

No week would be complete without a Greywater Gadget of the Week and one of the more interesting gadgets found on the web is Ecoplay, now helping the UK with water shortages since it is the third most water-stressed country in Europe according to Waterwise as summarized in this article:

"Ecoplay helps to reduce water usage in the home by up to a third, by recycling bath and shower water and using it to flush the toilet. This low-maintenance system involves a skimmer to remove light surface debris, such as foam hair and soap, whilst heaver particles sink and are flushed away to waste. Treated greywater is transferred into a storage tank ready for reuse. The Ecoplay system can hold up to 100 litres, which is capable of providing approximately 15 toilet flushes".

It appears that Smart Growth and wise use of water do not peacefully coexist in Arizona.

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About Me

This blog was an experiment in social media and networking for a class that I teach in water science and policy. You will find more than 300 postings here searchable through the key word search bar. Want to learn more about cool greywater equipment, type "gadgets"; "living building", etc. Type in "permit" to learn more about permitting greywater systems. Opinions are my own even though the blog is used as a learning resource. Thanks for reading.

Colors of the blog logo?

The Peace Flag? The Gay Pride Flag? All good guesses, but no, it is the Cuzco Wiphala which I first observed in 1984 in Cuzco at the Inti Raymi festival. It consists of seven horizontal stripes representing the colors of the rainbow. The significance and meanings for each color are as follows:

Red: The Earth and people

Orange: Society and culture

Yellow: Energy

Green: Natural resources

Light Blue or White: Time

Blue: The heavens

Purple: Self-determination

Colors of Water

Clearwater many times thought to have come from a fresh water spring. Because water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and both elements are invisible gases is a reason why water has crystal clear appearance.Tough to find these days in a natural state. Easy to find in a manufactured state and trapped in a bottle.

Whitewater, historical reference to noncorrupt activities by the Clintons pursued by a former special prosecutor. Sometimes also refers to water with lots of air or dissolved gas.Also connected to rapidly flowing water in rivers where lots of fun can be had in a multitude of floating devices. With incompetence in one arena, and competent treatment in the others, these waters remain harmless.

Greywater or graywater has many different definitions, I guess some could say “quasi conspiratorial” if one considers that graywater is neutral between whitewater and blackwater, but my previous job as a volunteer for the State of Oregon focused on HB 2080 which defines graywater as: “shower and bath waste water, bathroom sink waste water, kitchen sink waste water and laundry waste water. Graywater does not mean toilet or garbage wastes or waste water contaminated with soiled diapers.”No grey area in this definition.

Blackwater has many forms including a name formerly connected to a defense contractor who apparently liked the color of water in the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina. Also a Doobie Brothers. But in the water world, it is untreated wastewater from both urban domestic use and rural septic tanks. Blackwater also occurs in Australia as organic material, such as leaves and bark, that is washed into the river by a flood thus causing oxygen depletion. It can also be derived from dissolved manganese in groundwater and commonly stains porcelain fixtures.Peaceful means of treatment ultimately prevail against this colored water, but use extreme caution, some variants can be deadly.

Brownwater or the tea-colored water famous in swampy areas along the Mississippi River and Amazon River where rotting vegetation and humic and fulvic acids abound.

Greenwater is precipitation water infiltrated into the soil (so-called ‘‘green water’’) made famous by the grand dame of water mavens Malin Falkinmark of the Stockholm International Water Institute. Also greywater that has been disinfected for later use for irrigation becomes green.

Bluewater is water withdrawn and water consumed (withdrawal minus return flow to the river system) from rivers, lakes and aquifers for the purpose of irrigation.Also found as the water in nuclear power plants where spent rods are stored, but the subject of a different blog (wherever that might be).

Redwater is common when the water purveyor is tinkering with piping network, especially old piping networks, where sediment and rust are stirred up during servicing.Can also be a function of iron bacteria in water.

Purplewater is sometimes thought derived from Purple Rain popularized by the performer once known as Prince, but now referred to as recycled water from wastewater treatment plants conveyed in purple colored pipes for non-potable uses.

Yellowwater is a variant of yellow snow, derived from “where the huskies go" (homage to Frank Zappa).